Both Immigration Minister Paul Swain and Environment Minister Marian Hobbs will not be seeking posts in the new Cabinet. Swain officially wants to spend more time with his family, while Hobbs is openly standing aside to allow "new faces and ideas around the Cabinet table". Swain has been a solid performer and is generally regarded as a "safe pair of hands"; Hobbs had some early wobbles, but hasn't been too bad in her environment portfolio.
This frees up some valuable Cabinet space to use as a bargaining chip (the Greens especially will be interested in the environment and NZAID portfolios), and to allow some fresh faces to come forward. The latter is essential if Labour is to renew itself in office and have any chance at all of a fourth term. Unfortunately they don't have many of those fresh faces - only four new MPs in this intake - and ultimately the strategy depends on retirements from the list as well as from Cabinet.
Update: Hawkins is gone too.
5 comments:
Accident prone? Namesake, are you being ironic here, considering Mr Blumsky's unfortunate campaign mishap (even though I do like the guy really).
As for Marian, well, the Wellington
Central Greens and Labour have a quite convivial relationship.
Incidentally, is Stephen Franks staying in his coffin in a snit?
He hasn't been seen in daylight for a while...
CY
Posted by Anonymous : 10/04/2005 03:11:00 PM
last i heard Stephen Franks was working on Madeliene Flanagan's assault case against Pete Hodgson...
Posted by Span : 10/04/2005 03:23:00 PM
It is good to see some more space at the table. Labour needs to re-ivent itself pretty quickly to win again.
Mr Franks was on the radio doing his anti PC schtick on Sunday. Him and Wayne Mapp were on and made me very glad about the election result
Posted by Anonymous : 10/04/2005 04:52:00 PM
Environment is one of the most dangerous portfolios in Government - take a very hardline for the environment and pretty much every farmer and power producer in the country will shut down.
Clark will want to give the Greens Conservation, so that they have photo-ops with cuddly little Takehe and Kakapo, and may also give them a major portfolio like Education (assuming Jim's wishes don't come true) or Health.
Environment probably isn't on the cards though.
Posted by Anonymous : 10/04/2005 05:01:00 PM
If Labour wants to renew itself, and improve everyone's lives in the process, they should be giving the energy and transport portfolios to the Greens.
Posted by Anonymous : 10/04/2005 09:13:00 PM
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